


I'm Always Here

by Redrobinr



Category: Marvel, Marvel 2099, Marvel 616, Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, CEO Peter Parker, Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, Emotional Roller Coaster, Emotions, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Peter Parker, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, M/M, Not Beta Read, Past Relationship(s), Peter Parker is a Mess, Relationship(s), Temporary Character Death, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28634223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrobinr/pseuds/Redrobinr
Summary: "He didn't know why at first, but a brief moment to himself told him all the answers."Peter is pretty sure the universe hates him at first.Peter Third-Person POV - Takes place after Marvel's Spider-Man 2099 (2015) so plot spoilers will be mentioned!
Relationships: Miguel O'Hara/Peter Parker, Tempest Monroe/Miguel O'Hara
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	I'm Always Here

**Author's Note:**

> This is an emotional rollercoaster and when I wrote this on paper it took up 12 pages of half A4 paper, so yeah. Please be prepared for momentary unrequited love and Peter Parker struggling with said love.  
> I promise it gets happy afterwards.

He'd found himself doing it a lot now, staring at the other man and unconsciously wondering what was going on in his head, or just taking in little traits the other demonstrated like the slight tilt of his head he does whenever he's thinking or the smallest quirk of the lip or brow when he's trying not to laugh. He didn't know why at first, but a brief moment to himself told him all the answers.

Peter had fallen for Miguel. He had fallen for the pretty-faced man from the future who just one day appeared in his life and made himself a consistent part of it... And he didn't want to lose that.

So he kept those thoughts quiet, watched as Miguel cosied up with Tempest - who the hell calls their daughter 'Tempest'? - and continued watching as his chances with Miguel got slimmer and slimmer. He'd play that despair off with laughs and jokes; the occasional worry for Miguel's life as both Spider-Man and Miguel O'Hara as he became further enamoured with the woman.

He tried not to hate her. He really did. But seeing how much she affected the Latino genuinely hurt and angered Peter. He felt even worse when relief was one of the few feelings that ran through his mind when Tempest's mother stormed into the hospital room he and Miguel were in after the terrorist attack on the restaurant and said that her daughter was dead. He spent most of the time afterwards comforting Miguel, but the pain just got worse and worse when he saw how Miguel's moods spiralled and dropped. Because of one woman, the man he knew - who had fought alongside him with confidence and resolve, with well-intentioned passion - was becoming a man hellbent on revenge and fueled by nothing but fury.

He wasn't surprised when the suit he'd been developing for Miguel was gone when he next checked on it. He knew O'Hara was going to take back the mantle of Spider-Man again - they always do, Peter had solemnly noticed - and he wanted him to. Just not like this.

Miguel would check in with him every so often, and Peter never tried to talk him out of his revenge plan, never tried to steer him away from the path he was following when the last attempt resulted in a physical fight erupting between the two of them - Peter's office still had remnants of damage from it, they had destroyed several pieces of furniture in that scuffle and he was pretty sure Miguel had broken his nose during that - because he didn't want Miguel to hate him. He didn't want Miguel to realise that Peter didn't want him to love her anymore - it was why he was always careful when they spoke about her. Peter had never told Miguel just how he felt about Tempest, but it had crossed his mind once or twice whenever Miguel stated things like "because I love her, Peter!".

He had never felt more wrecked then when he overheard Raul mention to Roberta that Tempest was still alive and then Roberta unhelpfully added that she knew, and that he "wasn't supposed to tell Peter because Miguel had told them all not to" and both ended up covering their mouths with shock when they saw Peter in the doorway of their little office. He ignored Roberta's rushed attempts to get him to stop when he turned and left.

He spent the night home by himself, drinking solemnly and knowing that he really never could have Miguel in his life like that - why would the universe be that nice to him after all?

He was surprised a few weeks later by none other than the woman herself knocking on his door. He had half a mind to yell at her or tell her to just fuck off, but then he took in her appearance, how broken and different she looked, how red her eyes were and just how many tears were streaming down her face as she cried unceremoniously on his doorstep. The blood that coated her hand was the last thing he noticed. He regretted letting her in when she just crumpled into his arms, holding onto him like he was the last thing she had to ground her as she wailed, words coming from her lips like a torrential downpour. He barely made out any of the words at first, telling her to "please, take a breath and tell me again," before wishing he hadn't as she bawled out words that shattered his world.

"Miguel's dead, Peter! I killed him! He saved me and I killed him!"

He ignored everything else she said afterwards and just slid down onto the floor, Tempest in his arms as he just replayed those words in his head and realised he really couldn't have anything nice, and soon he found himself struggling just as much as her to keep himself together.

* * *

It had been a few years since then before he saw Miguel again, stood on a roof with Tempest and their son Gabri O'Hara-Monroe, and speaking with them. He had thought they had lied when they said that Miguel was there and he was helping them fight to defend the city, Miles had even voiced his own disbelief and reminded everyone that Miguel was gone, that "there was no way it was him" and there he was alive and well and breathing and he was right there _Peter just hurry up and get to him before you lose him again.–_

Peter tried not to let himself crack again when Miguel vanished before his eyes just moments before he got to them. He ended up doing so anyway and just broke down, yelling at Tempest and Gabri for letting him leave yet again even after they both knew what would happen to him if he did and _why couldn't you just keep him here so we didn't have to lose him again?_

He tried to deny that hope that started welling up in his body and mind and heart when Gabri simply looked at him and gently spoke, telling them all that they hadn't seen Miguel for the last time, that they'd see him again but his heart just clutched onto those words and completely overruled his brain trying to make him think logically. It stayed for a long time, even after the fight for New York ended and he was at home again and staring at pictures he and Miguel had taken together those few years ago before everything just went wrong.

* * *

The overwhelming feeling to just hold was the first thing he felt when he travelled to January 1st, 2100, where Gabri told him Miguel would be and the first face he landed on was the familiar tanned and purely gorgeous freckled face of Miguel O'Hara in front of him. His heart hadn't even given them both time to process just who they were seeing as he launched himself at the Latino and just held him, hiding his face in the crook of a honey-skinned neck and just revelling in the sound of an accented voice gently speaking to him and reassuring him that he wasn't dreaming.

They had sat together a few moments later, Captain America 2099 - 2100? - and Strange just excusing themselves to leave the two friends alone and quietly spoke to each other, discussing everything that had led up to that moment. He made sure to make a note to thank Strange whenever he saw her again when he found out she was the one who had yanked Miguel back through time to December 31st, 2099, and quickly healed him before he succumbed to his wounds. He ended up trying not to let himself just bask in the feeling of Miguel's head leaning on his shoulder, their elbows touching as they just continued talking.

Their conversation continued through to the next day, both finding they had far too much to talk about within 24 hours, and Peter had never felt happier.

They had adjusted positions yet again, Miguel's entire weight being held up by Peter's chest and Peter couldn't resist touching just a little bit. He settled for leaning an arm atop Miguel's ribs, which was responded to with a soft purr like noise. Apparently he wasn't the only one who missed the contact. He honestly wanted the moment to just last, but then his stupid mind had to go and make him say things he didn't want to.

"Do you... Still love Tempest?" His regret only increased tenfold when he saw the flickering emotions on Miguel's face. Ones of hurt. Of pain. Of regret. Of sadness. Then there was that distraught look in those red eyes and Peter wished he could travel back to a few seconds ago, where it was just them enjoying each other's company again.

He fell silent and thickly swallowed any other words that were coming up his throat when Miguel finally responded, sitting up slightly so he could look Peter in the eyes and speaking in such a hushed tone that didn't even need any extra emotion in to show just how much this affected the Latino.

"I do. Dios, I do. But... I can't be with her. Not without putting everything here on the line. Just seems like the universe is always out for me, especially when it comes to something like love."

He felt his hope being diced into a million pieces because of Miguel yet again, before he let out a strained noise and just nodded. His mind was telling him, frantically, to just tell him how you feel - you can take rejection, you can! - and he simply pushed himself away slightly and looked down before plucking at the nearest loose thread. The silence spanned for far too long and eventually Peter couldn't take it. It took a few seconds, he probably looked like a fish out of water to Miguel right now, of just opening and closing his mouth as he tried to think of how to word this before he finally looked back at the spider of the future.

"I uhm... I know this is a bad time to tell you this," he saw Miguel shift and look at him with confused intrigue in his eyes, "but I feel like if I don't at least get this off my chest now, it's never gonna be said..."

There was that head tilt of his again, a silent prompt for Peter to continue speaking.

"Even if you feel like that... Feel like you can't have love, or that you and Tempest wouldn't work out like you wish anymore... I... I just... Want you to know I'm here. Always. I can promise you my feelings won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

He took in the furrow of Miguel's brow, the one he always did while he was processing something he's been told or read, and found himself quickly shoving down those vital three words for just a little longer as he watched more emotions flick through Miguel's eyes and face. Confusion. Sadness - Peter didn't need to know why that showed, he could probably guess. Thoughtfulness and then surprise as the man finally processed everything and got at least some kind of grasp of what Peter was trying to tell him in his roundabout way.

"I... Peter, are you... Implying what I think you are?" The words were spoken a little firmer than usual, and Peter tried not to wince before he realised the man didn't even mean to do that - the way he quickly shot an apologetic look towards the other showed that.

"I like you, Miguel," that felt good. Just getting that little part off of his chest first, and seeing Miguel's surprise remain ever present before there was more confusion. He kinda wished he could know what Miguel was actually thinking. Peter then shook his head, which definitely only increased the perplexion in the other's mind and laughed slightly, "nah... Like isn't strong enough. Love is though. I love you, Miguel. And I know this is gonna sound bad and I know it's a god awful time to tell you this but I seriously don't think I'm gonna be able to keep it to myself any longer and if you wanna hate me or something now you totally can-"

_"Peter!"_

He never shut up as quickly as he did at that moment. Had he made Miguel mad?

"You... Seriously talk too much," Miguel chuckled, actually chuckled and Peter was pretty sure he could just die on the spot there and no he didn't melt at that sound - absolutely not, no sir - and that soft expression of affection for him on Miguel's face, "I like you too. A lot, actually. Love, on the other hand? I'm not sure yet. I... don't want to ruin anything between us, sure, but maybe this isn't just some strong respect and admiration for a hero... I think I need a few days before I can give you a solid answer honestly, Pete."

Peter didn't stop the hand that raised to his cheek - rather shyly he had noticed - and even leaned into the rough touch of keratin and skin against the area beneath his eye. He spoke softly as he took in the coolness of the hand on his face.

"I won't let anything bad happen between us permanently. I know we've argued and fought before and that we've had our bad days and lashed out at each other, but I never, ever let the bad blood between us last. This isn't any different. If you feel like you need some time before you can respond to my feelings, then I'll give you that. Just try not to keep me in suspense for too long, okay?"

Another soft chuckle and a nod was his response and the hand retreated from his cheek - he tried his hardest not to grab the recoiling wrist and just hold that cooler hand in his own - before it returned to place something in his palm. It was Peter's turn to be confused and Miguel simply smiled as he spoke.

"Keep in touch... You know you can't stay here for days when you've got your own world to look after."

When Peter looked down, he was greeted with the presence of a sleek device in his hand, one that was reminiscent of a mobile phone - he knew it wasn't, he was well aware that Miguel definitely did not know what a phone was amongst other things - and he was surprised when Miguel twisted his own hand and gently rapped his knuckle against the screen, which lit up to show a pop-up of "Connecting to 'Lyla'..." with a progress bar beneath it at 80%. Peter didn't stop the smile and laugh of euphoria that slipped from his lips when he realised he'd be able to still talk to Miguel even without them being in the same time or universe.

"This... This is taking long-distance relationships to a whole 'nother level, man." Peter joked, and a hum of amusement was his response before he was pushed from the seat and ushered to a room where a portal was - Miguel had been busy it seems.

"Go home, Parker. We'll talk later."

* * *

They did indeed talk afterwards, Peter immediately using the device to confirm he had arrived home safely and thanked Miguel for the trip back. (He got an animated emote of Lyla giving him a thumbs up in return and he definitely didn't spend hours trying to find where those were because he totally didn't want to use them).

It took exactly a few days of talking and catching up - just like Miguel promised - before he received a message from Miguel asking if he could drop by and pick up his original suit. Peter had shook his head because of course Miguel would want that back, he was just surprised it took him this long to ask for it, and sent him the exact time and date he was in currently. It took a few minutes afterwards for Miguel to show up and when Peter was about to make some kind of joke about the suit he was shut up by a pair of soft lips against his own. His brain lagged while thankfully his body did not.

He tried not to show his disappointment at Miguel pulling away (he failed, the breathless laugh from Miguel proved that) before he found himself suddenly very happy he never returned that suit the first time he revisited Miguel.

"That's my answer."

Peter didn't even give him a chance to say anything else as he just grabbed the leather jacket - an actual, physical jacket for once, not a hologram - and dragged Miguel in for another kiss. The rumbling purr that he swallowed was music to his ears.

**Author's Note:**

> See! No need to hunt me down. Happy end ✨
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this! I think this is one of my longer oneshots I've ever written, but I'd have to check that! Kudos and reviews are free and are, as always, appreciated.


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